The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-11-24
A DAILY PARADE.
Government Employees Quitting
Work in Washington.

Work in washington.
The Curious Spectacle Present
ed at the Hour of Four.
There are some queer sights about tho
Government departments daily when
the hour of arrives and the 10, 900 of
Uncle Sans servants turn out on dress
parade, writes Washington correspon-
dent. You do not get so good view
of them in the morning as they go in,
for they are more scattered then. The
timid ones begin to come along nearly
half an hour before time to begin work
in the morning, and they straggle in
until after nine o'clock. But at night
there is no struggling. They are
promptly on time, and when the hand
points to they make bee line for the
door. By half-past three to a quarter
of four work is laid aside and prepara-
tions are made for lightning disappear.
ance when the moment for disappear
ance comes.
The Scenes outside the buildings are
as curious as those within. BY 3.45 you
see in froat of every building a number
of vehicles of varied description wait
ing. Some are handsome, stylish In
fact, driven by fine teams and liveried
drivers. They are the carriages of the
heads of the departments or their assist
ants. They are, most of them government
turnouts. Then there is another class
of carriages; smaller, less expensive and
less stylish. Yet they arc more attrac-
tive to the average person, for they are
often driven by handsome lady, the
wife or sister or daughter of the clerk
for whom each is waiting. There is
another and more touching sight. 1t is
another class of waiting people. They
are on foot; women and children who
have come to greet "father" and escort
him home.
They are curious study as they pour
out by the thousands and scatter
through the streets. That stately look.
ing individual who walks to the carriage
in diguificd way, as though he were
afraid of breaking, is either head of
department orassistant. See how defer
entially the clerks bear themselves tow
ard him. Ii they are as fortunate as to
catch his eye they dolf their hats with a
vigor quite surprising in its comparison
with the energy exhibited at the desk
by this same individual That individ-
ual who prec:des the secretary, open
ing doors and bowiny obsequiously as
he enters the carriage, and tho door is
closed behind him, is the messenger
at his office. He blacks his masters
boots, brushes his clothes, brings him his
lunch from the restaurant in the build
ing, and jumps to help him on with his
oyercoat when he sees him ready to start
| out.
That other dignificd person, who
carries bouquet in his hand, is not the
head of the department. He is
division chief or head Of bureau. He
feels just as good overit, however, as the
head of the department feels in his
place. He is the recipient of as much
attention in his way from his own sub
ordlnates as the secretary gets, and en-
joys it more. That bouquet which he is
carrying home to his wifc--or somebody
elsc---was placed on his desk by some of
his subordinatcs who hoped to mako
their 500 a month job more secure by
it. And that elegant "shine" was
placed on his boot by gentleman with
similar ambitions regarding his $50 a
month job. The giver of the bouquet is
probably following along in easy dis
tancc hugging himself with secret de-
light at having made a new point in his
efforts to make himself 'solid with the
old man."
The procession as it comes out is a
curious mixture. Pretty young girls,
with rosy cheeks and shining eyes;
plump and pleasing widows, whose eyes
are as active as those of their younger
sisters; lean old maids who are hurrying
home to their cats and parrots; young
dapper men with dude collars and canes,
who make eyes at the pretty girls as
they go by; smirking old widowers, who
are trying to catch the eye of some
plump widow; rummy and seedy old
sinners, whose rum -blossomed noses and
unsteady steps tell very we'll what is tht
matter with them.
There are some touching sights, too.
The smile on the face OF the man in
threadbare but we'll brushed clothes,
when he sees the faces OF group OF
children waiting for him, the empty
sleeve, the crutch, the wooden leg;
which poorly support the worn out ole
soldier; the pretty girl on crutches
whom everybody pities for her mis-
fortune; the lunch basket, the hollow
cough and wasted cheek of men ant
women slowly dying from disease con
tracted by long hours in close rooms.
Applied Proverbs.